


i don't have enough faith to be an atheist (dystheism)

by AslansCompass



Series: Eros in Absentia [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Gen, aroace character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AslansCompass/pseuds/AslansCompass
Summary: Mandy Palmer has rejected her mother Aphrodite. Leaving Camp Half-Blood behind, she's going to find somewhere else to belong.
Series: Eros in Absentia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913581
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. gods be with you

**Author's Note:**

> The title is ripped off a Christian apologetic book cause I thought it would be funny.

Mandy paused in front of the mess hall fire, adjusting her backpack. She tossed a piece of fresh bread into the fire. "Hestia, accept my offering." She paused for a moment, watching the crust slowly catch fire. "I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving. It's not your fault; I just can't take any more of this."

"Where are you planning to go?" A woman in jeans and a Camp Half-Blood sweatshirt appeared next to her.

"Lady Hestia," Mandy gulped. "I didn't mean--I wasn't summoning you--I just thought I'd say goodbye. I left a note in the cabin for everyone else."

"Peace, child. I did not come to scold." Hestia sighed. "Though I am curious: why the offerings?"

"Well," Mandy shrugged. "They would have noticed if I didn't. And I'm not exactly fond of her lately." 

"I heard about your argument with Aphrodite."

Mandy blushed. "You did?"

"Your mother is not exactly confidential. Nor does she take rejection easily.ut why choose me, of all your options?"

"It's not like anyone else does. Specifically, I mean. We all give you a part, but nobody gives specifically to you. You don't have a throne or a cabin. Artemis has her Hunters. Hecate and Hypnos have their own cabins. And everyone respects Hades, even if it's mostly fear. I bet most campers don't even know you exist. "

"I made my choice centuries ago. I don't regret it."

"Well, that was only part of the reason." Mandy confessed. "You're not.... well...you don't try to boss anyone around." She buried her head in her hands. "Agh! I didn't mean--don't tell anyone! You don't send people on quests, that's all I meant."

"And your own plans?" 

"I have a grandma in the UP. Haven't heard from her since my dad died, but I don't think she moved. I was going to live with her, until the monsters showed up." Mandy adjusted her backpack. "I've got some money and ambrosia, plus my knife. And Julia gave me a few things I can pawn. If I hitch a ride with the strawberry truck, I can save a lot of time." 

"Your grandma, what's she like?"

"Oh, she's great! She's not technically my grandma, I suppose. She's my mom's mom; er, human mom, that is. Anyway, she takes me out to watch for UFOs, makes amazing peanut butter chip cookies, and taught me how to track. Mostly dogs and squirrels, cause that's what we have in our neighborhood, but she always hoped to see a Bigfoot one day." 

The firelight sparked up for a moment, glowing brightly as day. Mandy blinked and turned to Hestia for an explanation. "What was--"

Camp Half-Blood was gone. 

She was standing in her grandma's front yard. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hestia's thoughts: She's sweet. Family can be troublesome--what? She's never going to make it out of NYC, much less all the way to Michigan like that! I'm not losing my first devotee in decades so quickly! Cue transportation spell.


	2. i've heard weirder things

Mandy walked up to the front door, pausing by the huge maple. Some of the leaves had already turned red; most retained their green hue. But she hardly noticed. The trunk was a rainbow mishmash of colors, rain-blurred posters left to rot. She touched one carefully. Her mother's face smiled back at her. The same poster from seven years ago. 

Had it really been that long? This couldn't possibly be the same poster. A copy, then. How many copies, over the years, like yellow ribbons in that country song? Mandy picked another sheet off the ground. This one had a different picture: a preteen girl eating an ice cream cone as big as her head. _Have you seen her?_ it asked.

Mandy stuffed the paper into her pocket and headed up to the front door. Bell or knock? She rapped once, then rang the bell, then second-guessed herself and knocked it again.

She's still here, she's still here, she's still here, Mandy chanted to herself. It still felt like hours before the door swung open.

"Mandy? Mandy, is that really you?"

Mandy hugged her grandma. "I've missed you so much."

* * *

Less than an hour later, Mandy sat at the kitchen table, eating peanut butter chip cookies in a bowl of superman ice cream. 

"I put your backpack in the guest room." 

"Thanks, Grandma."

"'Grandma' just makes me feel old. It's Grace, remember?"

Mandy laughed. "Ah, come on, Grace, did you really think I'd forget?"

"It's been years." Grace crossed her arms. "No calls, no texts, no letters. Nothing on Facebook or Snapchat. One moment I'm dealing with lawyers about your dad's estate and custody papers, the next you're gone. Disappeared off the face of the earth! I was worried sick. "

"It's--well, it's hard to explain."

"What happened? Were you kidnapped? Trafficked? They tried to feed me some bullshit story about a rogue bear attack, but honestly--"

"It wasn't a bear." So that was what the Mist had made them see. 

"There _was_ an attack? In the middle of a city?"

"It wasn't a bear."

"Then what was it?" 

"You won't believe me." 

"I've spent years pondering worse fates then you can imagine. Whatever happened, whatever went wrong, I still love you. But I can't help you if I don't know what happened. Tell me."

"I met my bio mom."

Grace frowned. "He told you? About time!"

"Wait--you knew?"

"Of course I knew. You were born before he met Johanna. I believe you were six months old at the wedding."

"Not exactly. You know the Greek myths; gods and goddesses and monsters and stuff?" Mandy poured herself a glass of chocolate milk. "Well, they're real. It wasn't a bear who came after me; it was a brass-legged giantess. A satyr rescued me and brought me to Camp Half-Blood, a safe....well, mostly safe....safe-ish, place for demigods."

"Cause they're still at it, you know, the gods. And goddesses. Shacking up with anyone who takes their fancy, breeding like rabbits. And their kids are extra-special tasty for monsters. Cause the monsters from those stories are still around too. Cyclops and dragons and all that shit!"

"Language!" Grace reprimanded. 

"Well, they are shits. All of them. Especially the goddesses. Half of them don't even acknowledge their human children. And the ones who do--" Mandy gritted her teeth. "Well, they have no idea what they're doing."

"So your mother.... is a Greek goddess?"

"Aphrodite." Mandy swallowed the rest of the milk in one gulp. "Fricking Aphrodite."

"She always did seem rather dramatic in the myths."

"You have no idea," Mandy sighed. "And the rest of her kids are just as bad. Kept trying to get me to trick someone into falling in love with me. Couldn't take it anymore, so I up and left."

Grace shook her head. "Your dad told us how he found you--wrapped in a pink blanket outside her door. On Valentine's Day. Only a god would be so foolish as to leave a child outside during a Midwest winter. " 


	3. you're (not) gonna miss this

Mandy shoved textbooks back into her locker and pulled out a notebook and folder. Only science and English left. She glanced both ways before ducking down the middle school hallway. So far, she'd managed not to spill the beans about this class, but it was only a matter of time.

Stupid placement tests! Stupid science labs! And stupid Chiron for not teaching physical science at camp!

It hadn't taken long for Grace to bring up the subject of school. And as much as Mandy hated it, it was one of those things that normal people had to do. But without any records from the past four years, the administration insisted Mandy take placement tests. With the ADHD and dyslexia accommodations, testing alone took most of a week.

Not that she was surprised by the results. History, math, and English came in at grade level, with math on the lower side and history a bit higher. It would have been even better if the test covered European history as well as American, but demigods had played a significant enough role in modern history that she could cover the bases. Foreign languages aren't a requirement for freshman, even if Greek or French were common electives. (Nope, it's Spanish or nothing, given the school size.) They'd managed to fit an art history class in her schedule, as well as study hall. Gym wasn't going to be a problem either--for all that she wasn't cut out for fighting, the demigod lifestyle required a fairly rigorous schedule. 

But science....Mandy clenched her fists as she headed towards the classroom. That _stupid, insane_ test put her in _seventh grade science!_ As a freshman! And she was stuck there at least through first quarter. It had never been her favorite class, but still--

"Alright class, please settle down." Mr. Anderson raised his voice. "Turn to chapter three of your textbooks. We will be discussing the structure of atoms. Atoms are made of three types of particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons...."

* * *

Gym was still the worst. The absolute worst. Fourth hour, after Spanish (which was dull as dishwater. They just watched movies with Spanish subtitles) and study hall (which was just....she still wasn't sure what to do with that.) 

Co-ed gym, to boot. Ugh! Once again, something she was used to, but still hated. Even worse when they're trying to play actual sports, instead of just fighting for their lives. Just because Mandy was fit didn't mean she enjoyed it. Like....why did people care so much? It was just a game. 

And there was the day the teacher had made them team up for two-on-two basketball....with the opposite gender. Girl-guy teams. And of all the people, she got stuck with Garrett Meyers. Football star, basketball champ, and general bully. Not in the pushing-people around sense (she could have handled that), but in the 'he-he, you're a goody two-shoes bookworm" sense. 

He even sat in front of her in history _and_ English. Stupid alphabetical order. He never had his homework done either. But the worst part was the stupid questions he asked. Couldn't read a page of Shakespeare to save his life. Even "Romeo and Juliet," which was one of the easier ones. Forbidden love. That's a fairly simple situation. Though why they thought it was worth dying for.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mandy's not quite as bad off as, say, a wizard trying to transfer to a muggle school; still, Camp Half Blood has its weak spots educationally.


End file.
